Stellar Transformations

....

“Brother Zong, I never thought that you would pass level 6. To withstand a Level 6 Golden Immortal’s Sword Spirit and still live.” Du Zhong Jun sneered sarcastically. In his opinion he should be rank two and not Zong Jue.

From the arrangement Immortal Emperor Ni Yang made previously, one can guess that: the ninth floor’s treasures are for the first rank and contains the most valuable items. In the eighth floor, the treasures are also plentiful, but in the seventh floor, the treasures are the lowest of value. Even so, the seventh floor would contain a Divine equipment.

“It was just luck, nothing more.” Zong Jue smiled faintly.

Man Gan’s voice broke the awkward silence that followed, and said: “Enough, in the floor below, there are two more people – Qin Yu and Lan Feng. For Brother Qin Yu, it will be very difficult, but for Lan Feng.......I believe the probability for him to pass level 5 or level 6 would not be very high.”

“That’s right, the top three should just be us three.” Du Zhong Jun laughed triumphantly. Even if he wasn’t rank 2, being third wasn’t too bad.

Suddenly –––––––

“Man Gan will enter the eighth floor and Zong Jue will enter the seventh floor. Du Zhong Jun will be transported out of Ni Yang’s Realm!” An indifferent voice echoes through the third to the fourth floor’s great hall.

“What!?”

Man Gan, Zong Jue and Du Zhong Jun were completely jarred by the announcement. The former two stared open-mouthed at Du Zhong Jun, whose expression was a mixture of horror and madness.

All the other two was squint and watch as Du Zhong Jun vanish from the fourth floor.

Following Du Zhong Jun’s spectacular exit, Man Gan and Zong Jue were transported to their respective floors – the eighth and the seventh.

In the third floor of the Nine Heavens Palace.

“Qin Yu, as I promised, I did not announce that you took the first rank. Alright, it’s time for you to get ready to enter the ninth floor.” The thin black man – Wu Lan, smiled with mirth at Qin Yu.

“Many thanks Mister Wu.” Qin Yu did not want Man Gan and Zong Jue know that he obtained the final treasure of the Nine Heavens.

As long as Wu Lan does not announce the results, the other may assume that Lan Feng was number one and not Qin Yu.

Another stream of light descends onto Qin Yu, and envelopes his entire body.

Qin Yu felt the world disappear from below his feet, as his body vanished from the hall of the third floor. After Qin Yu disappeared, Wu Lan still stared at the open space where Qin Yu had stood, then shook his head and laughed inwardly: “Ni Yang, you....Ni Yang....you died so abruptly and still left behind so much bothersome work. Your realm that you spend so many wealth, treasure and time to create, and yet it will be left in the Mortal Plane, haah.”

Wu Lan laughed dryly again: “Only the most precious and coveted artefacts are found here in the Nine Heavens, in the top three floors. All of the other treasures found elsewhere combined could compare with even one of the top floors. Looks like all the treasures will be inherited by the next successors. It’s high time for me to reunite with my old friends too.”

And from the hall of the third floor, the final figure – Wu Lan, also faded away, only thin air remained.

.....

Du Zhong Jun felt the heavens and earth whirl about like a jumble of colours. A moment later, the colours stabilised and the surroundings became clear. With a short observation, he exclaimed: “What is this!? It’s Golden Woods Island!”

It turns out, Du Zhong Jun was transported to the Golden Woods Island.

“Du Zhong Jun, you were also ejected as well? You didn’t make the top three, right?” Hua Yan smiled then walked over from one side of the beach front. With him, was Fang Tian who asked: “Du Zhong Jun, if I remember correctly, you successfully passed level 5, right?”

Currently on Golden Woods Island, there were a small group of people.

It was the group of people that were ejected from Ni Yang’s Realm, there was: Fang Tian, Yu Liang, Hua Yan, Ao Feng and now Du Zhong Jun.

“Yeah, I failed as well.” Du Zhong Jun felt helpless but also frustrated at this outcome.

“I remember I was transported out after Zong Jue passed an astoundingly high level – level 6. After him there should only be Qin Yu and Lan Feng remaining, who was the one that forced you to lose your place in the leader boards?” Fang Tian asked doggedly.

“I don’t know either.” Not knowing who made Du Zhong Jun lose his placement only infuriated him more: “I still cannot understand who, of Lan Feng and Qin Yu, surpassed me? Considering Qin Yu’s power, how could he even pass through alive? As for Lan Feng, his power is indeed very formidable, but how could he pass anything higher than level 5 or level 6?”

“Also, that thin black fellow only announced that Man Gan was rank 2 and Zong Jue was rank 3. Before he sent me out he didn’t announce who was first!” Du Zhong Jun cursed and scowled darkly.

Hua Yan, Fang Tian, Ao Feng and the others all frowned.

“I think......number one could be Qin Yu.” Hua Yan suddenly smiled mysteriously.

“That’s impossible. With his power, even passing through a room would cost him his life.” Du Zhong Jun shook his head.

“Did not forget about Lan Feng? Lan Feng must know that it was difficult to come first, so, I assume, he used some kind of Hidden Technique to merge his power into Qin Yu’s body temporarily. When Qin Yu enters the room, Lan Feng would release his stored power.” Hua Yan laughed at Du Zhong Jun’s brainless assumption, “Ha, as far as I know, some Golden Sword Immortals knows of such kind of Hidden Technique.”

Hua Yan could clearly remember as if it were yesterday; during his time in the Immortal, Devil and Demon Realms, there was a powerful Sword Immortal who could merge his Sword Spirit in the body of his disciple. And during a contest, the disciple could unleash that amazingly powerful Sword Spirit.

“Possibly.”

Fang Tian, Du Zhong Jun and some others face lit up.

“If Qin Yu acquired that Divine item, that Painting of the Lost God.......by my predictions, Qin Yu would have to give up most of the treasure to his Martial Uncle Lan Feng, and only take a meagre amount.” Hua Yan explained, “Lan Feng may be tough to take down, but we can approach this problem from Qin Yu’s side.”

“By stealing from Qin Yu.....”

Everyone thought deeply about this problem.

Qin Yu did not know that such a group of thieves are secretly scheming his downfall. All of his attention was entirely focused on the interior of the ninth floor of the Nine Heavens.

The ninth floor of the Nine Heavens was a spacious hall.

The shape of the heavenly ceiling was spherical as is the space below.

Looking above, at the heavens, the ninth floor’s ceiling of the main hall was infinitely deep and black. Among the blackness were countless number of stars, twinkling with pure brilliance. Where they hung was a vast starry sky, both mysterious and distant.

And suspended above the ground was.......Immortal items one after another in multiple rows.

As far as the eye can see, over thousands upon thousands of items was arranged ahead, the worst was High Grade Immortal equipment. There were numerous Top Grade Immortal Items as well. Far in distance, there were many porcelain containers, which could very well contain Immortal Pills. It was like stepping into a treasure planet, with shiny goods left and right, up and down; truly the treasure room after the final boss.

“Immortal items, Immortal Pills......there’s everything but Top Grade Holy Elemental Stones?” Qin Yu shrugged helplessly.

What he wanted the most was Top Grade Holy Elemental Stones. With them, he could use his Sword Immortal Puppet without a fear of his puppet losing power. Just as Qin Yu was about to lower his head in frustration –––––––

The entire ninth floor shook side to side and the air around the centre of the hall vibrated, a figure appeared out of thin air.

The figure wore the familiar black martial robe. The figure had longer flowing hair, and had a pair of extremely cold discerning eyes. Qin Yu suddenly recalled that familiar statue that was in the White Jade Plaza.

“Junior, surely you have already guessed who I am. I am the Immortal Emperor Ni Yang.” The figure’s icy voice echoed in the great hall.

Qin Yu carefully examined the man in front of him; this was the legendary figure ––––– the one existence who stood at the pinnacle of all existences in the all the upper Realm: Immortal, Devil and Demon. This was the great Immortal Emperor Ni Yang.

“I have already died, this is just an messenger I left in the enchantment spell I place here.” The figure expressed a bitter look, “Whether it was life or death, my life was always subject to fate. And like that, my death was already determined by my fate.”

The Emperor slowly shook his head and smiled faintly: “Alright, that is all in the past now, I won’t dwell on it anymore. On this ninth layer, I have left three grand treasures, in a moment you can go get them. Before you do, you have to promise me one thing.....”

“Haha.....” Ni Yang suddenly laughed in a self-mocking tone, “Alas, I’m just a dead person now, I could not forcibly make you promise me anything. It’s just that I hope that when you reach the Upper Realms, at some point, cheat Emperor Yu and Emperor Xuan in a grand style. But, if you could injure them or, even better, kill them that would be the best.”

When the figure said the words ‘Emperor Yu’ and ‘Emperor Xuan’, its eyes glowed with fierce intensity and ruthlessness.

“Just that I know, for you to kill or wound them would almost be impossible. So to be about to cheat them in the grandest style possible, would make me satisfied already. You have the Atlas of Ten Thousand on your person, then I have good confidence in your ability to accomplish this task with ease.”

But Qin Yu felt puzzled.

This Immortal Emperor Ni Yang was obviously dead for a long time. How could he guess that the first place would go to the one who acquired the Atlas?

“You must be wondering how I could guess that you have the Atlas of Ten Thousand Beasts, ha ha......” The Emperor laughed for a short while, “Junior, you must know that, in fact, this last hurdle, the so-called the top 3 ranker will enter the ninth to seventh floors, was just a farce I let Wu Lan arrange. In reality, whoever is transported to the ninth floor depends on Wu Lan’s wishes. It was just that in the past, I made him swear an oath. He must vow to send the person who got the Atlas would be transported to the ninth floor.”

Qin Yu did not know whether to cry nor laugh, at this remark.

It turns out, even without passing that room challenge, he would still come here.

“Only with the Atlas, the task I entrusted to you could possibly be completed.” The Emperor sighed and continued, “Junior, though I am a dead man who cannot force you to do anything, but I implore you taken upon yourself to avenge me on those two onetime over.”

Qin Yu could feel the honest emotion behind Emperor Ni Yang’s pure-hearted plea.

He felt somewhat frustrated at the Emperor: “Even in death, the Emperor Ni Yang could not forget his revenge.”

But Qin Yu understood this, how could he take all these treasures left by the Emperor Ni Yang, and not give the Emperor a helping hand? He would always feel guilty about it. This was the human heart’s flaw.

“I will promise you this.” Qin Yu vowed in his heart.

“Junior, can you see all this effort? I spend so much effort preparing this realm to select a worthy heir.” The Emperor let out a loud sigh, “At the beginning in Nine Swords Immortal Mansion, the Paradise of Hallucinations was used to determine if the heir had a determined disposition. Later in split pathways, ‘The Peach Garden’ and the ‘Path of the Underworld’, was used to test if the individual did not fear death. To see if they dared to walk the thin line between life and death. If the heir was not firm or timid, how could they have the courage to face Emperor Yu and Emperor Xuan?”

Qin Yu secretly nodded.

So this was the reason why the Emperor set those series of trials.

Emperor Yu and Emperor Xuan are both figures at the fore front of the Immortal Realm. To deal with them, one needs to be bold and courageous, and unafraid of death. The same one also needs to have a steady heart and a firm mind.

“But simply with courage, fearlessness and a firm mind, the heir wouldn’t be able to achieve more than a fool’s errand.” The Emperor said in a-matter-of-fact tone, “I also set up a trap in the Scattering Treasure Cliff. The highly dangerous treasure trove is a setup to determine my heir must be tactful and careful in every endeavour.”

“To be careless while battling Emperor Yu and Emperor Xuan, which is the same as tempting death.” Ni Yang continued, “As for the Blue Cloud Road, it was a test to determine the resolve and strength of my heir. Having a firm and tactful mind does not mean anything, if your strength is not enough.”

Qin Yu felt a certain euphoria. He finally knew the reason Ni Yang put so many different trials before him.

All of the Emperor Ni Yang’s effort into making all these trials, was to carefully select a successor to entrust his revenge upon.

This successor needed to be: unafraid of death, a firm disposition and a pedantic tactician. But at the same time........have the potential, drive and prowess of an elite disciple who can overcome so-called unsurmountable obstacles.

“I believe, the one who could reach this place, would be the kind of person I am seeking. Your characteristic traits include: ‘fearless of death’ and ‘unafraid of high obstacles’.” The Emperor spoke with dignity and confidence befitting his status.

This person’s character should be easy to guess, since they are able to overcome all these life-threatening and highly difficult obstacles.

“Emperor Ni Yang. Truly meticulous, truly powerful.” Qin Yu could not help but admit it and sigh in utter admiration for this ghostly figure.

“Junior, if you are blessed with good fortunate, hopefully you have obtained the Blazing Ice Ring. If you have, then all I can say is that you are bless by lady luck.” The Emperor laughed while the light from his eyes danced with amusement, “I must say, luck plays a huge role in your life. In the past.....when I was in the Secret Region of the Upper Realms; at the time, I was being pursued by Emperor Yu and Emperor Xuan. I had finally made them lose track of me, but dogged by their presence, I stepped on a poisonous bug just when I was about to acquire the grand treasure....”

“That was a poisonous bug from the Celestial Realm, even in death, its poisonous barbs could penetrate my feet. The toxins attack the soul directly, once injected into my soul, it continued to consume my soul force. I barely managed to hold myself together for about a thousand years. It was just a poisonous bug, but don’t underestimate its deadliness since it was from the Celestial Realm.”

Recalling his memories, the Emperor wore a helpless expression.

That region he was in, was the most mysterious region of three Upper Realms.

Since its discovery, in its existence of countless years, no one had successfully reached the innermost chamber. But, the Emperor Ni Yang had achieved this ultimate success.

Unfortunately, he stepped on a corpse of a poisonous bug of the Celestial Realm, just as he was about to reach the ultimate goal. What a stroke of bad luck!

Who would mind such a dead thing? Naturally, Ni Yang did not pay much attention to the region surrounding the bug. It was just a dead bug.

This was what caused the Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s death.

“That death.....it was truly a downpour of bad luck.” Qin Yu didn’t know whether to sympathize or laugh.

Qin Yu finally understood why Ni Yang kept repeatedly blaming his own bad luck.

First he gets rid of his pursuers and successfully gotten the final treasure, then to step onto the corpse of a Celestial Realm poison bug. Even in all three Upper Realms, this was a rare spectacle.

“A Celestial Realm poison bug?” Qin Yu suddenly remembered that Ni Yang mentioned this.

How could a Celestial Realm poison bug appear in the Immortal, Devil and Demon Realms?

“Enough, Junior, my treasures, I will leave it here for you to retrieve at your leisure.....It’s just that when you do, do not forget the quest I’ve entrusted to you.....” The Emperor Ni Yang’s ghostly figure dissipated gradually into mist.

Qin Yu saluted at this great Emperor’s departure.

“Emperor Ni Yang, I’ve taken your grandest treasures, for that I owe you some repayment. This task you’ve entrusted to me, I will certainly accomplish it.”

Qin Yu turned towards the mountains of loot and countless treasures, and started to store them directly into his Blazing Ice Ring.

~End of Chapter 59~

Note - This chapter was originally translated by thunder at !